Jonathan Keep Landscape Designer

It was fantastic. He consulted with us for a couple of hours, and we took a walk through the neighborhood to get a good feel of what the design should do to complement the area. He visited again to show us his design and refine it. It needed minimal refinements. He really nailed it. Then he helped us find a landscaping company and mason. We picked our contractor and he managed the process. He helped us work with the city (fence permitting) and when some of the trees he'd proposed initially were unavailable (we did the job right at the end of the season), he improvised well. He even did the "little things" well, like having the masons lay the bricks for our walkway on their short side so they the walk will feel more antiqued. He was fabulous.

We recently purchased a home on a hilly wooded lot and were looking for help transforming the backyard into an open space we could enjoy while maintaining the natural beauty of the land. Since there was virtually no landscaping on the property there were many directions we could have gone and picking the right one was the biggest challenge we faced. We started out by meeting with several landscapers from AngiesList and quickly realized that they were not very helpful in building a vision for the property. We then met with a landscape designer who was very happy to agree with our ideas on the property, but did not offer anything new. Finally we met with Jonathan Keep after seeing some of his work on his website. Unlike the other designer Jonathan brought a fresh perspective. In our first meeting, he had us questioning all of our original assumptions of what we thought we should do. We were so impressed with him that we hired him to design an overall plan for the property. He presented the plan to us and we decided to keep him on as a project manager to implement it. Jonathan bid the project out to several landscapers and advocated on our behalf to get a fair price. He checked in on the progress along the way to make sure the project was implemented to his liking and made adjustments to the plan as needed. He always listened to our concerns and ideas, making sure to address them, while keeping the project and design on track. Working with a designer requires a bit of faith and trust. I'm glad we put our faith in Jonathan. Now that the project is complete I cannot imagine our yard any other way. Jonathan found the right people to do the work and had the right vision. I was a bit nervous about contracting with a designer on an hourly basis but in the end he presented a detailed invoice of all his hours and I feel we paid a fair price for an excellent job. I never once questioned his ethics and we hope to work with him again in the future.

He came promptly, walked the property, and discussed my ideas and budget with me. He asked who else I was interviewing about the project and warned me that the kind of companies I mentioned would most likely just recommend a lot of stone walls and walkways which they can make money on, but which would increase my cost substantially, rather than providing a real landscape design, and he seemed perturbed when I asked for references. I believe he came back another time on his own and walked the property once more, after which he sent me a sketch which to my surprise contained five long stone walls and four sets of stone steps, with minimal recommendations for landscaping, saying, when I asked if this plan could really fit my budget given what he'd said about the high cost of stone work, that the verbal estimate he'd given me was too low, and it would cost substantially (65%) more than the amount we'd discussed at our meeting. His charge for his time and the drawing was $525.

We had a tricky design problem in that our house looks like a traditional colonial from the front but has been updated with modern elements in the back (lots of glass, cable-rail deck). We wanted a cohesive landscape that worked with both the modern and traditional elements, while not looking like a mish mash of styles. We also had drainage issues that had to be addressed. The first plan Jonathan came up worked on all levels, and we moved ahead with very few changes. His plan combined both modern and traditional materials (stone walls & peastone patio alongside poured concrete walkways and steps). The modern design elements (i.e., large square concrete stepping stones set at odd angles) fit seamlessly with the classic New England granite walls. As one neighbor said, "It looks like it's always been here, but there's an element of surprise." What more could one ask for in a landscape? We decided to plant a few of the beds ourselves, and Jonathan was kind enough to accompany me to the nursery to help with the selection. He made some great suggestions that wouldn't have occurred to me, and we're very happy with the result. At his suggestion we planted bamboo along the front border, and many people have commented on how much they love it. All told, Jonathan is an extremely talented designer and a pleasure to work with. We highly recommend him.

Jonathan was a great resource in helping us make significant changes in our landscaping. He gave us great design ideas in the process and was maticulious in supervising the execution of the plan. He is able to provide an overall approach (look & feel) while paying attention to the details. We would recommend him highly for any landscape design work.

Jonathan is an absolutely amazing landscape architect! He considered our site carefully and well, and was always great to work with, stopping by daily to check on the work. From the start, he listened to our wants and needs, and gave us several options whenever possible. He subcontracted the construction of our stone walls to a company which did gorgeous work using Goshen stone (a 40-ft curved sitting wall, a patio, and a four-terrace garden). It has been a couple of years since the job was completed, and every single time we have a visitor, the yard receives compliments. Jonathan takes the long view, and so you must have patience and trust that as plantings grow, his vision will reveal itself over time; it will.

Jonathan is an absolutely amazing landscape architect! He considered our site carefully and well, and was always great to work with, stopping by daily to check on the work. From the start, he listened to our wants and needs, and gave us several options whenever possible. He subcontracted the construction of our stone walls to a company which did gorgeous work using Goshen stone (a 40-ft curved sitting wall, a patio, and a four-terrace garden). It has been a couple of years since the job was completed, and every single time we have a visitor, the yard receives compliments. Jonathan takes the long view, and so you must have patience and trust that as plantings grow, his vision will reveal itself over time; it will.